Door lock



Jane 29 1924.

H. N. SORENSON DOOR LOCK Filed NOV. 12 1921 Fig. i

lfl u v IIIIIIIIHIIIH Fig. 2,

raven tar MWWfiM reamed Jan. 29, 1924.

STATES PATENT OFFICE.

EAR/BY IN. SOB-ENSON, F TOLEDO, OHIO.

DOOR LOCK.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HARRY N. Sonrmson, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Toledo, in the county of Lucas and State a of Ohio, have made an invention appertaining to a Door Lock; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference bein had to the accompanying drawings, an to the characters of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

This invention relates to door locks, and particularly to a lock for use on automobile doors.

The object of my invention is the provision of a lock of this character which is composed of few parts, is simple and inexpensive in its construction, and is adapted to compensate for wear and a swinging apart of the door and casing and to prevent looseness and rattling of the door.

The invention is fully described in the following specification, and while in its broader aspect it is'capable of embodimentin numerous forms, a preferred embodiment thereof is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which,

Figure 1 is an'outer side elevation of a portion of a door and casing of an automobile body equipped with my lock and with a part broken away. Fig. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary horizontal section on the line 2-2 in Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary vertical section on the line 3- -'-3 in Fig. 1, and-Fig. t is afragmentary vertical section on the line H in Fig. 2.

Referring to the drawings, 1- designates an automobile body having a door jam 2 forming one side of a door receiving opening, and 3 a door mounted in said opening for horizontal opening movements as is customary in connection with automobile bodies.

The frame upright a forming the outer vertical edge of the door is recessed, to receive in the present instance, a U-shaped lock plate 5, which extends transversely of the door with its channel opening outwardly and has the free ends of its sides or leg portions bent outward and lying against the outer face of the frame strip 4: and secured lever 7, preferably of U-form in cross-section with its outer end closed, and pivoted near one of its ends within the inner end of the channel of the plate 5 on a fulcrum pinS extending crosswise of and mounted at its ends in the sides of the plate 5. The catch lever 7 is disposed longitudinally within the channel of the plate 5 and is connected atits inner or short end b a tension spring 9 to an anchoring mom or or bracket 10 secured to the inner side of'the door frame upright 4 as best shown in Fig. 2. The spring 9 normally holds the catch lever 7 in position for its long end to extend outward on an incline from the plate channel in sition for its end to have outward thrust a utment against a stationary catch lug 11 fixed to the jam 2 the abutting surfaces of the two catch members 7 and 11 being disposed at an incline to the outer side of the door and substantially at a right angle to the longitudinal axis of the lever. Upon a closing movement of the door the inclined outer side portion of the catch lever 7 engages the catch lug 11 and is forced inward thereby to permit the member 7 to pass the catch lug 11 and to then spring outward with relation to the edge of the door into catch engagement with the lug.

The controlmeans forthe catch lever 7 comprises, in the present instance, a lever 12, which is pivoted at its lower end to an inwardly projecting arm on the bracket 10 and extends outward therefrom at the inner side of. the door frame uprightt adjacent to the top thereof with its upper end provided with two oppositely projecting fingers 13 projec'tin througih respective slots 14 in opposite si es of t e door casing so that the lever may be 0 erated either at the inner side or outer si e of the door. Each finger 13 is provided with a knob 15 at its outer end. The control lever 12 has a link 16 projecting therefrom near its lower end through an opening 17 in the frame part 4 and bottom 0 the plate 5 and into the channel of such plate where it is pivotally connected to the free, or outwardly projecting end portion of the catch lever 7. It is ev1- dent that a swinging movement of the control lever 12 away from the door frame up-v right 4 will'rock the catch lever 7 against in normally retaining the catch member in catch lug engaging position. The opening in the bottom of the lock plate 5 throu h which the link 16 projects is formed in t e present instance by an outward striking of the finger 19 from the plate. It is evident in the operation of my lock that the catch lever 7 normally stands in inclined relation to the free vertical edge of the door when the free end of the long arm of the lever projects beyond the door edge. Upon a closing movement of the door the outer inclined side of the catch lever coacts with the outer end of the catch lug 11 and is forced inward thereby to permit the catch end of the lever to pass inward beyond the catch lug and then to spring outward into end thrust catch engagement with the inner surface of the lug. It is preferable to have the engagin faces of the lever and lug flattened and isposed in planes at right angles to the longitudinal plane of the lever when in lug engaging position. Should the free edge of the door sprin away from the door jam, as frequently is t e case with the doors of automobiles, the catch lever is permitted to spring outward a sufiicient extent to compensate for such swingin or separating movement of the door edge and jam thereby preventing the rattling and looseness which would otherwise be present between the catch members of a door lock under similar circumstances. The mounting of the catch lever is such as to permit it to swing outward a greater extent than is reuired for it to have catch engagement with t e catch lug when the door and casin are in substantially close fitting relation, t ereby permitting such outward automatic adjusting movement of the lever to compen- 6 sate for a separating of the door edge and casing.

I wish it understood that my invention is not limited to any s ecific construction, arran ment or form 0 the parts, as it is capab e of embodiment in numerous forms without departing from the spirit of the claims.

Having thus described my invention what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is,-

1. The combination with a door and jamb of a channel plate set into the free edge of the door with its channel extending transversely thereof, a catch lever of bar form pivoted in the channel plate for swingin movements toward and away from the jam and adapted to stand at an incline to the door edge with one edge projecting beyond such edge, a spring actmg on one end of the lever to normally retain it in said projecting positio n, operating means connected to the other end of the lever, and a catch lug fixed to the jamb and having a catch surface for engagement with the outer end of the catch lever, such surface being inclined and disposed at substantially a right angle to the longitudinal axis of the catch lever when in normal projected position.

2. The combination with a door and jamb, a catch lug fixed to the jamb and having an inclined catch surface, a channeled plate set into the free ed e of the door, a channeled bar form of catc lever pivoted in the channel of the plate for swinging movements toward and away from the j amb with its channel side disposed inward, the lever extending transversely of the door and adapted to have its outer end en age the catch surface of the catch lug, a spring actin on the lever to normally retain its catch en projected in catch lug engaging position, and operating means connected to the other end of the lever for retracting the same from catch lug engaging position.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto signed my name to this specification.

HARRY N. SORENSON. 

